ABOUT THE GUIDE

Prices quoted are for the range of main courses at dinner. In some cases, restaurants cross categories of cuisine, but in the index they are listed in only one. The listings are not ranked, but are presented in alphabetical order.

-- PANE E VINO

For seven years this Marina- area restaurant has offered some of the best rustic Italian food in San Francisco, prepared by Bruno Quercini. The modest interior has a warm, inviting look; the focal point of the room is a long table set with prosciutto and a wheel of Parmesan cheese.

You feel as if you're in a Parisian alleyway when you find your way to Plouf, a fun seafood restaurant near the Financial District. In the summer large windows open out onto the street, and there are rows of outdoor seating, too. In cool weather there's a fireplace that adds a warm glow to the tiled floor and lofty tin ceilings hung with halogen lights. It's modern, loud, casual and fun.

Chef Maria Helm has steered the food on a consistent course at this popular, wonderfully designed Marina restaurant. The innovative wine list offers among the best deals in San Francisco, and you'll discover many wines unavailable elsewhere. Note: The Tahoe restaurant of the same name has a similar look and food that's every bit as good as its big-city sister.

Wolfgang Puck's Northern California outpost brings a big dose of Los Angeles glitz to San Francisco. The dramatic staircase leading down to the dining room lets all patrons have their 15 seconds of fame. The creative food, now produced by Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal, has a creative East-West bent, and the desserts are consistently among the best in the city.

Wendy Brucker and Roscoe Skipper have created one of the top culinary destinations in the East Bay. Brucker's food is rustic and Skipper's service refined. The modern interior has a vague 1960s ranch house look. The outdoor garden and cheerful colors give it a bright, airy feel.

The James Beard Foundation named Rose Pistola the best new restaurant to open in the United States in 1996. Created by Reed Hearon, the founder of LuLu, the food keeps getting better. The open kitchen features three cooking stations, each with its own wood fire. The rich wood, tile floor and black-and-white photographs on the walls add up to a sleek, sophisticated look that contrasts pleasantly with the rustic food.

It took Scott Newman a few months to find his bearings after Traci Des Jardins left to open Jardiniere. Now he's found his style, and the food is on an even course. The interior has an urban style with earthquake beams, exposed brick and a loftlike look, contrasted with refined wood accents.

One of the original San Francisco grills started more than 125 years ago, Sam's retains an ageless charm. It looks like a classic grill with lots of wood, brass hooks for coats and a whole wall of private booths for intimate gatherings. It's also one of the few places left where you can get once-popular classic dishes.

Donna and Giovanni Scala have created the most stylish, fun Italian restaurant in San Francisco as a follow-up to their popular Don Giovanni in Napa. The dramatic dining room with an impressive tin ceiling and a series of booths with beaded lamps is a people- watchers' paradise on Union Square.

David Kinch has created a simple, pleasant setting in Saratoga for his bright, meticulously crafted food, which might include a delicate sea bass wrapped in potatoes and gently accented with a red wine oxtail jus. His food is so good it's worth a drive from anywhere in the Bay Area.

Chef Charles Phan has created a Vietnamese restaurant that already has a national reputation. Many combinations are based on street food, but haven't been seen here before. The restaurant's interior has an upscale, architectural feel.

It's only a counter -- and a seafood shop -- but Swan, opened in 1912, has developed a deserved cult following. Eat at the counter and feel as if you've traveled back in time. Or order any of the fresh seafood to take home.

The rustic feel of a Tuscan villa and the high-style marriage of East and West ingredients are the hallmarks of Lissa Doumani and Hiro Sone's unique wine country restaurant. He handles the kitchen, blending Asian ingredients with flawless French technique. She runs the front of the house, making everyone feel right at home.

Chef-owner Pathama Parikanont has consistently been in top form at this charming restaurant near the Lower Haight. Not only is the food a cut above, the cozy dining room has the feel of a Victorian parlor.

Brew pubs have opened all around the Bay Area in the past few years, but this one has unsurpassed tapas and Spanish specialties, including paella. The lofty space features huge stainless-steel tanks behind glass and a partly open kitchen. The place can be very noisy, but the food is superb.

Sylvie Le Mer continues to produce the best Breton crepes in the Bay Area. The interior of the Mission District restaurant looks as if it belongs in a French country village. For the best show, sit at the counter and watch the paper-thin pancakes being made.

Specializing in Hakka-inspired food, this large, Hong Kong-style restaurant serves the best dim sum in San Francisco. On weekends there are nine chefs who do nothing but make the dim sum continuously throughout the day. While the light-colored booths, rose-colored walls and Chinese lanterns don't set it apart, the food certainly does.

The food has continued to shine under Julia McClaskey, who creates some of the most vibrant, nurturing combinations in San Francisco. The industrial-looking interior has won several design awards. It's also a great stop for breakfast or lunch.

Carlo Middione has perfected his Southern Italian cooking at this impressive Opera Plaza restaurant that features a bustling open kitchen and a warren of rooms. (His Vivande Porta Via on Fillmore, which offers substantial take- away, is also excellent.) It's one of the top spots for a bite before or after the symphony.

Bruce Hill is producing the most subtle and refined East-West food in San Francisco at this newly transformed restaurant. Al Falchi, who has owned the restaurant for nearly 30 years, has created an appropriately impressive setting, too: Walls of windows afford a city- lights view of the Embarcadero and impressive vistas of the Bay Bridge. The sophisticated interior weaves together industrial, European and Asian accents with finesse. In the next few weeks, a more casual cafe will debut downstairs.

Five miles off Highway 101 on Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa, this low-slung roadhouse serves some of the most delicious food (and well-priced wine) in the Bay Area. The attention to detail shows in the copper tables and the impressive flower arrangements on the bar. Chef Richard Allen changes the menu weekly.

Tucked next to the freeway, this restaurant continues to feel as if it was just discovered. It's so small you can smell the food cooking and at times feel the heat. The nine tables wrap around two sides of the open kitchen, which dominates the tiny space.

Although it's as big as a banquet hall, Wu Kong is still one of the prettiest Chinese restaurants in San Francisco, with fine art on the walls and crystal chandeliers. Wu Kong features very good Shanghai cooking; the one drawback is the somewhat disjointed service.

On any given day, Yank Sing will feature 80 items on its dim sum carts. It costs a little more, but it's always a reliable bet for dining on the Embarcadero. In addition, diners can get individual servings of tea-smoked duck and other items. The dining area is broken up, so you the restaurant doesn't seem so big.

This Japanese restaurant offers a twist you won't find anywhere else. One side is a serene, pretty Japanese restaurant and sushi bar. The other side, separated by a bar, is a jazz club that offers two live shows nightly. A staple in Berkeley for 25 years, it moved to an expanded space at Oakland's Jack London Square last year. Cuisine: Japanese

This pleasant storefront restaurant offers a very personal cooking style. Everything tastes fresh, and many dishes have a creative bent that sets them apart from what's found at the majority of Thai restaurants.

The Spanish tapas here are some of the best in San Francisco. An extensive menu includes both hot and cold appetizers along with several main courses and very good paella. This neighborhood charmer has a tightly packed dining room with rough wood, stucco and brick accents. There's almost always a wait, but Lucas Gasco's food is satisfying and the service is friendly.

Husband-and-wife team Barbara Mulas and Mark Drazek have created one of the most satisfying small restaurants in San Francisco. It has the feel of a sophisticated, intimate brasserie that is designed to showcase their light cuisine. The menu changes monthly.

The LuLu folks have created the most urban feeling restaurant on the Peninsula. From the front it looks like a Victorian house, but inside it has a stylish warehouse-industrial look crafted by Cass Calder Smith. It features an open kitchen, a central atrium and lots of outdoor seating. The menu is similar to LuLu, and so is the often deafening din.

Zuni attracts the most interesting crowd to be found in San Francisco. It's so much fun to people- watch that it's hard to know whether diners go there for the fabulous food crafted by chef-owner Judy Rodgers or the scene.